My parents were absolutely brilliant about letting us kids form our own opinions.
Its weird when I think about it, because I don't remember my parents ever telling me what party they favored. I knew that my mother came from "democratic" upbringing, because her father was a precinct captain for the Daley administration. I also knew that she didn't like Daley. At all.
My dad was even more mysterious about his political affiliation. I strongly believe that he was a conservative based on the arguments he would have with friends... but I never remember him stating who he supported.
My parents made it clear to us at an early age that they wanted us to think for ourselves. They didn't try to push us kids into any political party, which was brilliant.
Again, I only realized this as I get older, because I talk to people who had parents who tried to force their political points of view on them.
I love them and miss them all the more as I write this. Because now I understand that not all parents give their kid that much leeway.
Which leads me to this little chunk of indoctrination:
The slime who wrote this book is Jeremy Zilber, who apparently doesn't trust kids to think for themselves. He must believe in early indoctrination. He also wrote "Why mommy is a Democrat" and "Why daddy is a Democrat".
(I wonder if any part of that book contains the lines "Because mommy and daddy want free shit from the government, and they don't think that they'll ever have to pay for it.)
This is my favorite part of the indoctrination. Its where you teach kids to mistrust old people:
It says "now some mamas voted for a man named John, some mamas voted for a mastedon."Because, you know, its really important for kids to understand at an early age that old people just don't understand, and have never been young before. And stuff.
Its sad to me that some people will buy this book. Its even sadder to think that there are parents out there that won't trust their kids to learn from their examples.
I'm not a Republican because my dad told me to be one.
I'm a Republican because I learned what it was to be a man of substance from him. I saw him work hard towards nobility and retain a love for the founding fathers. I learned patriotism from him. Not the flag waving, but a respect for liberty and democracy, which he practiced by not forcing his beliefs on me.
My father also taught me, by example, what it means to be an independent thinker.
My mother taught me the compassion of actually volunteering, and not expecting other people to do stuff for you. She taught me that I'm responsible for my actions. That I shouldn't pass the buck.
My parents would have never bought me that book.
3 comments:
The next time someone asks me why I think it's important for Democrats to talk to their kids about their political views, I'll direct them to your blog and say "this is what can happen if they don't." So, in a sense, I should probably thank you, because you may actually boost my sales a little.
Regardless, I truly love the irony of this sentence: "My father also taught me, by example, what it means to be an independent thinker." It's especially amusing in the context of discussing the various ways in which you "independently decided" to adopt your parents' values and copy their behavior. If your parents really wanted you to be an independent thinker, shouldn't they have NOT allowed you to see their examples? Or, at the very least, shouldn't they have exposed you equally to different examples, or even given you books like mine to read, so that you could decide for yourself which path to take? As someone who prides himself on his independent thinking skills, you probably should have thought of that.
Jeremy,
I'd absolutely love it if you'd direct your people to my blog. That would be sweet.
Its nice to know that you're not afraid of showing people viewpoints other then your own. I just wish you'd treat kids the same way, instead of indoctrinating them with propaganda.
Its also cool to see that in your heart, you're really a capitalist. Just like most people, you're interested in making money, and you're always trying to figure out a way to make more money.
You wrote:
Regardless, I truly love the irony of this sentence: "My father also taught me, by example, what it means to be an independent thinker."
It's especially amusing in the context of discussing the various ways in which you "independently decided" to adopt your parents' values and copy their behavior."
I don't think you understand the definition of irony, then. Or at least what it is to be an independent thinker.
Two people, both thinking freely, can come to the same conclusion logically.
And yeah... I did choose to do some things my parents did. Other things, not as much.
The point being that my father taught me to think independently.
Something you apparently don't trust as much.
"If your parents really wanted you to be an independent thinker, shouldn't they have NOT allowed you to see their examples?"
That's not only bizarre, but misses the point.
My father showed me what it meant to be an independent thinker by his example.
My father wasn't afraid to challenge other people's opinions, even when he knew it wasn't the most convenient thing to do. My father taught me, by example, how to be bold in thought.
I'm not sure that someone who writes a children's book, indoctrinating them, could comprehend that.
"Or, at the very least, shouldn't they have exposed you equally to different examples, or even given you books like mine to read, so that you could decide for yourself which path to take?"
Which path?
Again, I think you lost the point.
Independent thinkers (at least in my case) don't think about following the path.
We create our own.
But you haven't even done what you suggest in your own book.
You don't show two sides of one issue. You show one, and then tell kids that its what's right.
You're not too different from Amish communities that don't trust 'outside' points of view.
"As someone who prides himself on his independent thinking skills, you probably should have thought of that."
Here, Jeremy, is where you fall short of understanding people who are capable of thinking independently.
We don't follow any one path.
You have trouble understanding what its like not to force your belief's on someone else.
I'm not surprised.
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